It's Day 2 of Against the Crowd Blogathon 2018!
As promised, we have a guest post by super reader Joel. If you've been around this blog for a while you know that even though Joel doesn't have a blog of his own, he's contributed to a number of my blogathons. He has even served as my de facto co-host for Girl Week. Yes Joel, Girl Week 2018 is just a few short months away. Since he's been a loyal reader and gives the best comments, I'm more than happy to share this space for him to do so.
Of course, the point of this particular blogathon is to give unpopular movie opinions. We're discussing films we hate that others love and films we love that others hate. With that, I'll turn it over to Joel.
HATE!!!
Boyhood (2014)
Award winning? Revolutionary? Awesome? Pish I say!
For three nearly unendurable hours we watch a stupid selfish irresponsible disinterested woman and her dullard of an ex-husband groan about the unfairness of life while basically ignoring their children unless it suits their purposes. The result of this is that their son and the protagonist of the film grows up to be a lackadaisical slacker whose future seems as aimless as this pile of garbage.
I’ve heard this referred to as a love it or hate it film. Please put me firmly in the hate camp. This dreary exercise in existential navel gazing ennui is a mind-numbing, whiny bore. The supposedly edgy technique of shooting over 12 years only proves that Linklater could bore the audience through decades of time!
People proclaim “It’s so true to life! It’s so real!” So what? Scrubbing out my toilet is “so true to life!” as well but I don’t want to watch the cinematic equivalent on the screen.
Like Francis Ford Coppola Linklater cast his own daughter as the couple’s daughter and perhaps someday like Sofia Coppola she might display some skill behind the camera. One can only hope, as it stands now she has the screen presence of vapor.
I’ll state flat out that I am a fan of neither Ethan Hawke nor Patricia Arquette, both marginal talents at best, and Arquette’s Oscar win is one of the most egregious missteps the Academy ever made. There is not a single distinguished aspect to her performance. To be fair her character is poorly conceived and a deplorable mother. The example that sticks out in my mind and infuriated me when watching was when her 14 (!!!!) year old son comes home on his birthday high as a kite, which she recognizes, and all she says is take it easy and go to bed!!!! What in the name of all that is holy kind of response is that!? Call Child Protection Services and get that poor kid away from her. No wonder he had no direction. She never puts her children first and even remains in a terribly abusive relationship despite the danger to her kids. GGGRRRR.
It took me an entire day to wade through this cinematic torture chamber because I broke it into small segments hoping that it would somehow come together into something resembling entertainment. To say that hope went unrealized is a massive understatement.
Near the conclusion of this turkey Arquette’s character (thankfully the last time we see her) says “I thought there would be more.” I’m right there with you sister!!!
LOVE!!!
Love and Other Disasters (2006)
"Jacks" Jackson (Brittany Murphy-petite, fresh and lovely), by birth English but having grown up in America is now back in London (a plot device to cover the fact that Brittany’s accent is wildly variable) works for the British edition of Vogue magazine. Ditzy, flighty and decked out in a tremendous high fashion wardrobe Jacks regularly sleeps with her devoted ex-boyfriend, James Wildstone (Elliot Cowan). Well he’s her ex as far as she’s concerned but he still thinks they’re together though she’s broken up with him multiple times. She also lives with Peter Simon (Matthew Rhys-of the Americans and Brothers & Sisters using an approximation of his native Welsh accent), a screenwriter and her gay best friend who has romantic complications of his own. When Jacks meets Argentinian Paolo Sarmiento (Santiago Cabrera) a photographer's assistant at Vogue, she assumes he is gay and set out to make a match for Peter. However Paolo is straight and deeply smitten with her. Whatever will happen?
Along for the ride is Jacks other best friend, rich girl Tallulah (Catherine Tate) a disaster of a woman who’s current paramour, at least in her mind is an obscene phone caller who works for the phone company and has promised her free broadband! Then there’s Tallulah’s mother Felicity Riggs-Wentworth (Stephanie Beacham) a fashion tragedy who jumps from cause to cause. There’s even a handful of surprise high profile cameos laced throughout.
Some movies are meant to have great import, enrich the human condition or provide insight into a mystery of life. This movie is not one of those. The critics apparently didn’t understand that thinking that something co-produced by Luc Besson and David Fincher (admittedly an unexpected pair for this sort of froth) could turn out something so light. A cheery little romantic comedy with gorgeous views of London, it wears its mantle proudly referencing Breakfast at Tiffany’s along with other starry eyed pictures.
Thanks, Joel!
Click below for yesterday's entries
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